Enemy of the State: How the Media Are Evolving in a Fact-Free Environment

This event is the latest in the San Francisco Foundation’s series on People, Place and Power.

Less than a month into his presidency, Donald Trump tweeted that the “fake news media is not my enemy. It is the enemy of the American people.” How does this rhetoric change the public’s trust in the media and the role journalism plays in a democratic society at a time when social media has changed the way we receive information?

With misinformation and partisan content influencing public opinion, journalism is reimagining its role in what has become a fact-free, post-truth environment. According to a 2016 Gallup poll, only 32 percent of Americans felt “they have a great deal or fair amount of trust in the media.” The media are finding ways to adapt in this current environment while continuing to inform an increasingly divided audience. The San Francisco Foundation is bringing together the Bay Area’s leading journalists and social media professionals to discuss the convergence of journalism, social media and the news.

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Kernan photo by Wendy Goodfriend